Multi Mill / NL Architects

NL Architects’ winning cultural stage proposal will activate the Port of Amsterdam as its unique configuration is suited for a variety of activities. Situated on the Haparandada near the IJ River, the flexible and movable base will accommodate different forms of art such as film, fashion, sculpture, dance, etc. “The versatility of the assignment is the ultimate challenge for Architecture: how can one single spatial given host all these functionalities in a credible way?” explained the architects.

Seeing to port of Amsterdam as being in “a perpetual process of transformation,” the architects wanted the new stage to respond to that constant change. The three wings which branch from a central platform each possess a different form fit for their usage. “The design will evoke varied programming; besides the evident ways to deploy the object, it hopes to catalyze unexpected ‘inhabitation’. The idea is to develop an adaptable object that can be used both as a stage and as a stand,” explained the architects.